Sonora, CA — The final two Tuolumne County Grand Jury reports of the current cycle were publicly released today.
The Grand Jury serves as a government watchdog and reviews issues and complaints related to local government, and makes recommendations. The term of the current Grand Jury expires at the end of the month, and five reports were completed.
We noted earlier that the first report focused on correctional facilities, and the second and third were in relation to past responses by county leaders to last year’s reports and the payroll practices of the Twain Harte Fire District.
The fourth installment is a 26-page report entitled, Governance Practices Impacting Public Trust. A big focus was on complaints made surrounding Tuolumne County District One Supervisor Mike Holland. A main aspect was that Holland did not recuse himself when the county debated a mobile home rent control ordinance (he owns spaces within Hill Haven and rents out a mobile home there). It also examines whether it is ok for him to continue to serve on both the board of supervisors and the Sonora High Board of Trustees simultaneously.
Regarding the conflict of interest matter, the Grand Jury made various recommendations, including that all publicly elected officials complete training on the Political Reform Act of 1974, the Levine Act, and the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Related to the issue of serving as both a county supervisor and school board member, the Grand Jury’s investigation stated it “creates the appearance and opportunities for a clash of duties,” and recommended that the County Counsel submit the issue to the California Attorney General’s Office for further guidance.
The Grand Jury also highlighted challenges in doing the investigation, including Supervisor Holland requesting that two members of the jury be removed due to bias. There was also a difficulty in finding specifics about past meetings (all accessible via video). In response, a recommendation was to have all of the board meetings transcribed, potentially using AI software. There were also concerns about a policy where county emails are automatically deleted after 90 days.
Click here to view the full 26-page report.
The fifth and final report that the Grand Jury will release this cycle was 80 pages and entitled Behind the Devastation: Tuolumne County Community Development Department. The report highlighted the handling of the departure of the Community Development Director, staffing losses, declining morale, and moving the CDD forward. It partially focused on Supervisor Holland, again, and a property he owns at 17411 High School Road. That issue was mentioned in past news articles (click here to find).
The report made 19 findings with various related recommendations.
